How to get your hens to lay fresh eggs year round

This is a problem for chicken keepers everywhere. The winter egg production drop off issue. It goes from gathering several dozen eggs a week in summer to nothing in winter. Some of us have even resorted to buying eggs from the store in winter. Yuck!

I stumbled upon a trick that keeps me in fresh eggs year round. The best part is, I don't have to add supplemental lighting. My electric bills don't go up. I don't do anything fancy and I get farm fresh eggs year round. 

This method takes a tiny bit of forethought but it's one simple move that will keep you in farm fresh eggs from your own happy chickens....even in winter!

Are you ready for this? You're gonna ask yourself "Now why didn't I try this before?" It's this simple, quit getting your chicks in the spring! That's it. Whether you hatch or buy chicks, just do it a few months later then normal and you'll have eggs in winter. 

Let me explain.

Getting your chickens to lay eggs in winter

Chickens start laying eggs when their body reaches maturity. Depending on the breed, its when they are about 4-6 months old. Most of us get chicks in spring. That puts their age of maturity around late summer, so that's when they start laying.

New layers tend to lay regularly for about 4 months then shut down for winter. The shorter days trigger the hens body to stop laying and we get that 'break' in the production cycle. Spring rolls around and the hens start laying again.

Even if your ladies are a few years old you'll still get more eggs in spring than the rest of the year. They slow down as they age and that's completely normal. The 1 year and 2 year old hens though, will be kicking out eggs like crazy in spring and through to the end of summer. That's also normal.

This is why you want to buy your chicks later in the season, so they're growing during this already high production time for your existing flock, and then start laying when everyone else stops.

I noticed this 3 years ago and have been keeping data ever since. Now that I've started yet another season of winter egg laying, I'm thinking I can call this method a success.

Here's generally what happens:

I buy or hatch new chicks in July. Around November or early December this new batch of pullets start laying. They lay eggs through winter till about February when they start to slow down. They keep this slowed down pace till spring, sometimes they stop for a few weeks but usually they lay right through till spring.

Around late spring they start laying daily again keeping at it till late summer/early fall when they go through their first molt. Their slowdown in the early spring coincides with the older hens starting up their laying cycles for the new season...which begins as the days start getting longer again.

See? Eggs year round!

I like this method far better then any other I've heard of. It still keeps with the chickens natural need for a 'break' in egg production. It doesn't spike your electric bill like supplemental coop lighting.

It's not unnatural for chicks to hatch all through summer. This is just a normal production cycle for a chick hatched in late summer.

By staggering them into your regular flock, you get the benefit of fresh eggs in winter without messing with their natural body rhythms. 

Plus, you can get some amazing deals on chicks since you're not buying at the high demand times. I'd say this is a win-win for all of us! 


Want to know more about farm fresh chicken eggs? Click here for my other posts on everything you ever wanted to know about eggs!

~L

Related: Should you collect eggs more often in Summer? Winter? Yes....here's why!

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